Literally what I want is Biden to go on television and say something real about the murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) September 3, 2024
Democrats had no issue using his family as a political prop. This is gut check time. Do we actually stand for something or are we producing a television show?
In this spectacular production put on by the Democratic National Committee
The parents of a 23-year-old American taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel gave a moving speech Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention, pleading for the release of the dozens of people who continue to be held captive in Gaza.
“This is a political convention. But needing our only son — and all of the cherished hostages — home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” said Jon Polin, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin lost his part of his left arm and was kidnapped from Israel by militants who attacked the music festival he was attending.
Polin and his wife, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, were greeted with an extended ovation and chants of “bring him home” by the thousands of Democratic delegates in Chicago.
That reflected a typical perspective. In a similar vein
Entering to chants of “Bring Them Home,” Jonathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, both natives of the Chicago area, brought tears to the eyes of many in attendance with the gut-wrenching story of their son and their broader thoughts on the more than 100 hostages who have been captive held in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday night, Hersh’s parents said they didn’t know what to expect when they walked onto the stage, with Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza at times bitterly dividing Democrats and with a number of Palestinian supporters in seats at the arena.
The reception, with thunderous chants in support of the hostages, brought Goldberg-Polin to tears as she put her head in her hands before her speech got underway.
“It was completely overwhelming and unexpected. We had been preparing ourselves for a long time that we were going to get a very hard to negative response, and we were shocked,” said Goldberg-Polin. “I was really taken aback, and I wasn’t prepared for any of that. I wasn’t prepared for support and love and kindness. I was not prepared, and that’s why I became overwhelmed.”
The family needed to get its story out, and deserved to do so. However, eleven days after the Polins spoke before the DNC, Hersh-Goldbeg Polin was found by the Israeli Defense Forces in a tunnel, along with the body of five other hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
The response by the Administration to the murder of a dual American and Israeli citizen was, generously speaking, underwhelming when
Asked if Netanyahu should do more on the issue and whether he thinks the Israeli leader is currently doing enough, Biden offered a firm "no" as he spoke to reporters outside the White House.
He did not elaborate on the remarks.
It was prudent for President Biden not to elaborate on his remarks, and it is not unreasonable that he would not give Netanyahu a thumbs up with the U.S. presidential election looming and the Administration thus determined to end the war in any way possible.
Viewed in context, however, the Administration's response to the murder of an American citizen is feeble and feckless. Had Goldberg-Polin been exclusively an American citizen, it is inconceivable that the federal government would increase pressure on an ally to submit to a ceasefire desperately needed by a terrorist group responsible for the atrocity and desperate for a permanent end to a war.
It is no less than an act of appeasement. It is critical that Donald Trump lose the upcoming presidential election. But it is critical also that the war does not end in a manner which would facilitate the dismantling of the Jewish state and in a manner which boldly declares to terrorist groups and state actor that if an American citizen is mercilessly killed, we will accede to bend over backwards to see that they are mollified.
Mr. Goldberg and Mrs. Goldberg-Polin weren't prepared for the rapturous response they received at the Democratic convention. Nor is is likely they were prepared for the reaction of the Biden-Harris Administration to the discovery that their son was murdered. The "bring them home" chant directed not at the butchers of Hamas but at the Israeli government was a great feel-good moment, a television show with impeccable production qualities.
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